Mrs. T, the Welsh wonder tortoise! A 90-year-old tortoise named Mrs. T made world headlines in 2015 after her front legs were gnawed off by rats while she was hibernating in a garden shed. Owner Jude Ryder of Pembroke, Wales, rushed her beloved pet to the vet, terrified she might have to be euthanized.  Though Mrs. T recovered (after a very expensive vet bill), the poor old … [Read more...]

Not long ago, singer Julia Price was getting some exercise, running along her usual path down a Chicago street, when she heard an older man yelling – loudly enough for her to hear through her headphones – “Sexy lady, hey hey hey sexy lady!” He kept screaming it, but she ignored him and continued to run. The well-dressed man, who appeared to be on his lunch break from an … [Read more...]

During a particularly harsh Arctic winter in December 1984, native folks near the Bering Sea spotted over 2,000 beluga whales trapped by thick ice. Masses of frozen water were rapidly closing in on the mammals, squeezing them tightly together. For weeks, rescuers patiently hacked through the ice as best as they could, feeding the belugas with frozen fish. And thankfully, they … [Read more...]

When Luna first held a snake as a young child, she fell in love with it. Over the years she’s admired and handled a wide variety of (even venomous!) snakes, with the expert guidance of folks at the San Diego Herpetological Society. She received a junior reptile handler’s license at the age of five. And now, at 13, just as we enter the Year of the Snake, she has finally adopted … [Read more...]

Susan Chernak McElroy was desperately seeking a miracle in her struggle against advanced cancer. In her deeply moving book, Animals as Teachers and Healers, the author recounts her experience being part of a support group in which 24 cancer patients danced, meditated, painted and chanted for a healing vision. “We cried and wailed together and recorded our dreams,” she … [Read more...]